Neglect of miners’ safety

Despite 45 documented accidents in the past eight years, authorities have not prosecuted anyone under the Mines Act

Nine miners have died in a coal mine disaster in Balochistan. More than a dozen miners had been working more than a kilometre deep in the mine when methane gas started leaking following an electricity short circuit inside the mine. Rescue operations were launched immediately after the mishap was reported two days ago. Nine bodies and three survivors were pulled out of the mine. Later, one of the survivors died from injuries. Two of the other survivors are reported to be in a serious condition. The condition of the survivors who have inhaled a toxic gas for two days can only be serious. Six of the workers who participated in the rescue operations fell unconscious after inhaling the poisonous gas. According to labour leaders, the government, mine owners and contractors have neglected safety of miners. Poor working conditions inside coal mines in Balochistan have claimed lives of several miners in Harnai, Machh, and Sowrangi areas in recent years.

According to the Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation, on an average between 100 and 200 miners die in mine accidents every year in Pakistan. It is not only in coal mines in Balochistan that accidents occur. In 2018, nine miners working in a coal mine in Darra Adamkhel in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa died and another four suffered serious burn injuries in a blast after methane gas accumulated inside the mine. The Mines Act of 1923 and the regulations framed under the act stipulate a fairly extensive and adequate safety measures. Despite 45 documented accidents resulting in more than 318 deaths in the past eight years in Balochistan, the authorities have reportedly not prosecuted anyone under the Mines Act. Coal miners also suffer from lung diseases. They also chew tobacco to quench thirst due to lack of adequate quantity of water inside the mine. The continued neglect of safety measures and the official apathy are shocking indeed. 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2019.

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